Pasco County deputies on Sunday rescued three boys whose boat was caught in severe weather off Anclote Key Park in Holiday.

The sheriff’s office received a 911 call about 4 p.m. after the 10-foot John boat — operated by three boys ranging in age from 10 to 14 — began taking on water due to rough seas and was drifting out into the Gulf of Mexico.

While en route, deputies in an aviation unit were able to determine the boys’ coordinates through a cell phone one of the boys had on the boat.

A short time later, deputies say the aviation unit arrived and located the boys drifting out to sea.

After confirming the boys were removing water from the boat with buckets and were not wearing life jackets, deputies say rescue crews boated out to their location and pulled them to safety.

The boys were not injured and were reunited with their parents on shore, deputies say.

Tom Jackson

Tom Jackson’s baseball card — if he had one — would report he throws left, writes right. In his columns and blog, “The Right Stuff,” southpaw Jackson provides insight into the evolving human condition from a distinctly conservative point of view.Column | Blog